A Not so Silent Childhood
by Revenant47
Summary: Taking place in a timeline where Anankos never went berserk and where Valla's civilization never crumbled into ash, Corrin and Lilith, the two newest members of the fading Silent Dragon tribe must wade through Valla's quagmire of court politics and insurrection while learning what it truly means to be manakates. At times like this, it helps to have a dad who's a god.
1. Chapter 1: The Heirs to Silence

"You're kidding, right? This… this has to be some kind of joke."

The barest trace of a frown appeared on Mikoto's face as she coolly met his eyes. "Darling, this is hardly something that I would joke about."

"I… I know but…" Anankos searched for the right words but found they alluded him. Instead he opted to waved his hands in frustration. "but this!"

Like always, Mikoto's smile somehow managed to drag him back to reality. Putting a steadying hand on his she waited until the panic and trepidation had almost subsided before continuing. "Dear, I know this must come as quite the shock for you-"

"That's an understatement."

She bit her lip. "But regardless, it doesn't change the fact that it happened. So now we need to figure out what we're going to do."

"I- I…" The silent dragon was still fumbling over himself. For the longest time this scene would have been completely alien to her. A dragon god stressing out over fatherhood? The very notion was absurd! But it was this weakness, this humanity that was part of the charm that drew Mikoto to him and she couldn't help but smile.

"Oh come now, was my getting pregnant really that much of a surprise?" Mikoto teased lightly. "After all, we weren't exactly _restrained_ in our affair. And besides, I'm sure the baby will be fine."

"I'm not worried about the baby Miki, I'm worried about you." Anankos said. "I've seen what the courts are like!"

"You haven't been to court in two thousand years."

"So? Its only gotten worse!" The dragon said darkly. "If they find out you've given birth to my child, they'll waste no time in trying to use you for their own benefit!"

"Let them try." Mikoto sneered. "You know as well as I that I wasn't born into that cesspool. If they try to mess with our child, I'll show them how we handled things out in slums. They'll bite off much more than they bargained for."

"And what about your adopted sister? How do you think she'll react if you start getting a baby belly?"

Mikoto waved the comment aside. "Arete's too busy with her own baby to worry about me." She smiled and stroked Anankos's light blue hair. "Maybe I'll just starting eating more. Everyone'll think I'm just getting fat."

Anankos tried to say something but it only came out as a vague grumble. The next few minutes were spent in serious, yet still oddly comfortable silence.

"No," The silent dragon said with a sigh. "We can't just endure the scandal."

"You have a plan?" Mikoto asked softly.

"I might," Anankos admitted. "But it involves the Outrealms."

"I'm not abandoning my child to grow up motherless." Mikoto rebutted sharply.

"And I wouldn't expect you to. I'm saying that we should move you into one. At least until your pregnancy is finished."

The Shrine Maiden looked at him, suspicion evident in her eyes. "Are you saying what I think you are?"

"Yes."

Mikoto chuckled dryly. "And you think my sister is less likely to notice an extra two years than a couple extra pounds?"

Anankos shrugged. "I doubt she'll notice, you're too beautiful for something as simple as time to mar." He stopped and thought about what exactly she had said. "Did you say two years?"

She smiled slyly. "You don't think I'm going to leave as soon as they're born do you?"

"No, of course not!" Anankos said, backpedaling. "I'm just happy that I'll have you all to myself for a while."

"Well not entirely yourself." Mikoto amended. She paused, as a thought crossed her mind. "Dear, have you ever delivered a baby before?"

* * *

"One more push! You're almost there!"

"AAARRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!" Mikoto screamed as she obeyed.

Anankos continued to hold his lover's hand. He hadn't left her side once during the entire process, terrified what could happen while he was gone. The four of them had been in this room for hours, but their ordeal was finally nearing its end. The final sign came as Anankos heard the faint sound of a crying baby.

"Anankos, if you would." The voice was regal and refined; a voice that was used to being obeyed.

He clumsily jumped to his feet, prompting the old man serving as an assistant to chuckle softly. Ignoring him, the emerald haired goddess passed the baby to his father.

"It's a boy." Anankos said, dumfounded in the face of overwhelming joy. "Miki, it's a boy!"

When her only response was another scream Anankos face paled.

"Calm yourself." Naga ordered, "There's nothing to worry about, she'd just having twins."

"Twins?" Anankos said breathlessly.

"Aye." The old man replied. "You're a lucky man, Anankos."

"Sage, I…" He looked down at his baby who was still crying. Not knowing what else to do, he bobbed his son up and down, trying to soothe his crying.

"And… we're done. She's a girl."

Looking up, Anankos watched as Naga wrapped his daughter in a blanket and gave her to her mother. Staring in jubilation, Mikoto stroked the child's cheek. She paused and looked at the goddess, a frown marring her face. "Is she…"

Naga smiled warmly. "They are both completely healthy."

Mikoto breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank the gods."

"You're welcome." Three different voices with various degrees of sarcasm answered her.

She rolled her eyes. Looking at her baby she made a face. "Your daddy and his friends are supper silly aren't they? Yes, they are! Yes, they are."

Anankos couldn't help but smile as he continued to bob his baby boy. "What should we name them Miki?"

"Hmm… Can we name the boy Corrin?"

"After your father?"

She nodded. "He would have been overjoyed to meet him. And it's a good name. Strong, yet caring."

Anankos smiled. "It's perfect. Welcome to your new home, Corrin."

"What about the girl? What do you think?"

"I was hoping we could call her Lilith." Anankos said softly. "It's a name from my tribe. It has a long, illustrious history." He paused for a moment. "It was my sister's name…"

She smiled her approval. "Lilith… Yes, I love it. Come here Lilith, say hi to your daddy."

After handing Corrin off to his mother, and spending a few wondrous moments with his children, Anankos walked over to the two other manaketes in the room. "Thank you for coming. I know you're both very busy."

"Not at all." The Sage replied, smiling. "Do you know how long it's been since a member of our tribe has been born, let alone two? I wouldn't miss this for the world. Besides, after the success of the peace conference in Cheve, everything has been pretty quiet in my neck of the woods."

Naga nodded in agreement. "My sentiments exactly. Since Grima's defeat I've little to do save spoil my own grandchildren, and they're not but babes themselves. Believe me, I'm more than happy to help."

"You are going to let me babysit, right?" The Sage asked, smiling. "After all, someone's got to teach them our history, and we all know you'll get it all mixed up."

"Perhaps when they get a little older." Anankos conceded. "For the time being, I don't think Miki's gonna to let them leave her sight."

"You're right about that." Mikoto cooed softly, her two newborns finally sleeping soundly in her arms.

* * *

 **6 and a half years later-**

"Come on Lily! It's about to start!"

Corrin bounced up and down in excitement. "Come on! The parades already going by, Mom will out there any second!"

"I'm coming Corrin!" His sister pushed her way through the crowd, a roll of bread clasped in her right hand. Looking around nervously, she leaned in close and whispered. "Are you sure we should be here? Dad said to stay home."

"He just said that because he didn't know about the festival. If he knew Mom was going to be there he wouldn't have gone out to meet with the old man."

"But how'd you know about it?" Lilith asked softly, her eye still carrying the telltale nervousness of a child worried she'd get caught.

"Uh… that's not important."

"You've been sneaking out again, haven't you! Corrin, Dad told you to stop!"

"I've only gone out a few times! It's no big deal."

Lilith's face scrunched up and she took a bite of her snack, the falling crumbs getting caught on the rough, brown clothing she wore. "I'm telling!"

"You better not!" Corrin threatened, then his face lit up as he saw something behind his sister. "There she is! Lily over there, in front of the big, gold carriage!"

"What? Where? I can't see!" Lily moved desperately, trying to get a better view through the crowd of cheering citizens.

"Here, stand where I am." Corrin suggested, moving over slightly to make room. His view was now a bit obstructed by this heavy gentlemen standing to his right, but it was worth it to give his twin a look.

Lilith looked out across the sea of people to where their mother was walking. "Wow! She looks so pretty!"

Corrin grinned. "Duh, she's our Mom. She _always_ looks pretty."

Lilith shook her head. "Not like that. I mean, look at that dress, it's so white and shiny!"

Corrin had to admit she was right. The golden trim complemented the pristine ivory of her gown. Her ebon hair was beautiful and straight, and even from this distance, he could tell that not a single strand was out of place. But it was not her regal and holy visage that struck the young manakete. "She looks so sad…"

"Huh?" Lilith's attention diverted from her snack for a moment, her cheeks puffed up as she thought about what her brother had said. "No she's not. She's just being serious."

"Why do you think that?"

"Dad said she's a priestess. Priestesses have to be serious. Everyone knows that."

"Oh you're right." Corrin admitted. He looked back out across the cheering crowds, watching the thousands of people cheering for the procession. "Lily, what's a priestess?"

His sister chewed on her bread thoughtfully. "I dunna know. Dad never told us. It has to be pretty important though, right?"

"Well, ya… Why else would she always be working?" Corrin blurted out before he could think better of it.

"Corrin that's not fair." Lilith replied, though her face betrayed her real thoughts. Their mother's absence was a tough subject for the both of them. Their father had impressed upon them how important it was that she remain in the palace, but they didn't really understand the reasoning all that well. They always enjoyed it when she came to visit, but those moments never lasted that long and more often than not, just left them depressed when she inevitably had to return.

Feeling terrible for darkening their trip, Corrin swooped down and lifted his twin sister onto his shoulders, smiling as she squealed in delight. Not for the first time he marveled at how light she was. For someone who was almost constantly eating, she never did seem to gain any weight.

"Corrin! I think I see the royal family!"

"Really?" He asked in excitement. "What do they look like? Are they as beautiful as Mom said? Like in the stories?"

"I don't know, they're so far away." The young silent dragon squinted as she tried to get a better look. "It looks like there's three of them… They all have blue hair, just like Mom said!"

"Ah, come on Lily, try harder! I can't see from down here. Also your feet keep kicking me in the face…"

A cry went out over the crowd. Soft at first, but it rapidly grew until was an overpowering crescendo. As people began to scramble and zigzag like a hive of threatened ants, Corrin felt a seed of worry begin to sprout inside him. "Lily, what's going on?"

"Umm… Corrin I think they're manaketes too."

"Huh? Why do you say that?"

Lilith patted him on the head, signaling that she wanted to get down. "Well, there was a burst of fire at the king's carriage. He must've turned into a dragon and breathed it all around his carriage!"

Despite his sister's hopeful visage, something about the situation rubbed Corrin the wrong way. The mood of the crowd was too… dark. And why was everyone running away? And for that matter, there sure were a lot of guards moving towards the disturbance. "Lily, I think we should go home. We need to get back before Dad does."

"Okay." She answered, patting him again impatiently.

Corrin let his sister down from his shoulders. "You have your dragonstone, right?"

"Uh huh. But Dad told us never to use them around people…"

"I know. I know." Corrin replied hastily, checking his own pocket to make sure he had his as well. "Just making sure."

The pair stuck to the back alleys as they made their journey back to the city outskirts. As they went, they continued to spy more and more guards in full body armor running in the direction of the parade. Each time this happened, the two young dragons would hide among the broken boxes and filth, leaving two pairs of eyes, one gold, one crimson, looking out in a mixture of worry and fear. There were even a few times Corrin could've sworn he heard the clang of metal bashing metal.

But eventually the soldiers would move on, and the two youngest members of the Silent dragon tribe could continue their journey home. Slowly but surely, they traveled through the secret passes and sewers that Corrin had made it his business to know through his various nocturnal expeditions to the city. By the time the sun had begun to set at the end of the afternoon, they were only a few streets away from the holes in the walls they had used to enter.

"Only a few more, Lily. We're almost there." Corrin said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Just a few more alleys and then-"

"Huh, Corrin?" Lilith asked in confusion. "What's wrong, why did you… stop…"

She trailed off as her eyes locked onto what had stopped Corrin dead in his tracks. About twenty feet away, leaning up against the wall of the alley, was a young girl about their age. She was hugging her knees to her chest and for all the world looked to be completely alone. But it wasn't her body language that drew their attention. No, it was the beautiful white gown that was covered in dirt and grime along with the slender golden tiara she wore on her long, sky-blue hair.

"Corrin…" Lilith leaned over and whispered into his ear, "I've seen her before, she was in the carriage with the king."

"I thought you said you couldn't see it that well?"

She glared at him. "I could see it well enough!"

"Ya, whatever." Corrin walked slowly up to the princess. "Um, hello. Are… are you okay?"

The girl stiffened and looked up at him in fear. Sensing her distress, Corrin backed away ever so slightly, raising his hands to show he didn't have any weapon. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Corrin, and this is my sister Lilith. We-"

"If you're going to kill me, just get it over with." The girl whispered, her voice horse and fearful.

"K-kill you? N-no why would we do that? That's horrible?"

She looked up in surprise and Corrin saw that there were tears running down her face. "You're… not with the rebels?"

"I don't think we are." Corrin leaned over and whispered to his sister. "Lily, what're rebels?"

"I don't know. Something bad I think." Lilith answered, still looking at the princess in wonder.

"HEY ODRICK! WE FOUND THE PRINCESS OVER HERE!"

Corrin turned to see a squad of soldiers descending upon them. They all wore the signature azure, gold trimmed armor of the Vallite royal guard. In seconds they had cornered the three children. Staring up at the group, Corrin was horrified to see splotch's or red blemishing the light blue and gold of their armor and weapons.

One of the men, the only one without a helmet, stepped forward. He was middle aged by Corrin's reckoning. Or at least he thought so, as his father never got any older, Corrin's experience with age was more conceptual than practical. He had two, fierce green eyes and a vibrant orange beard that was beginning to show patches of grey. In his left hand was a rough, iron ax and in his left a shield.

"Princess Azura. I'm sorry it took us so long to find you." His voice was curt; what Corrin had come to associate with the guards. But there was also an edge of cruelty to it that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight up.

"A hollow gesture, an apology from a traitor. Wouldn't you agree Sir Odrick?" Though the words she spoke were strong and regal, the princess's voice was meek and uncertain. From the corner of his vision, Corrin thought he could see her hands trembling.

"Am I traitor for putting the realm before a single family?" Odrick answered, advancing towards them ever so slightly. "Valla has been in decline for over two hundred years. The fact that you're only now seeing revolt is merely a testament to generations of lies. Lies told by your family." He pointed his ax towards the princess and she flinched. A couple of men laughed at that. "But don't worry princess. As things stand now, you're worth much more alive than dead, at least until our patron decides what to do with you. Hmm? Do you have something you'd like to say before you die, urchin?"

As the man had been speaking, Corrin had stepped forward, putting himself between both the princess and his sister. And though he was trembling desperately, he did not break eye contact. "N-no milord. I'm just not much in the habit of speaking to men like you."

"Men like me? I'd expect not for such a runt. Probably never met a nobleman in your life, let alone spoken to one."

Corrin shook his head. "No milord, you misunderstand. Not a nobleman." He fumbled around in back pocket, hoping desperately that his sister would pick up on the action. He stared deep into those vicious green orbs. "An oath breaker."

He barely had time to blink before he was knocked aside by the flat of Odrick's ax. As he lay sprawled in the dirt, his head throbbing and his vision fuzzy, he could hear Odrick's voice. "Take the urchins and dump their bodies in the gutters. Make sure to teach that one some respect before you do so. I'll take the princess to the rendezvous."

"Lily," Corrin choked out. "Take the princess and run. I'll hold them off."

"W-what? Corrin, you can't, Dad told us never to-"

"On second thought, kill the boy and girl now." Odrick ordered. "It'll teach the princess to- What the hell!?"

Corrin's body began to vibrate as the power that was his birthright flowed through his veins, liberated from the restraint of the dragonstone. Scales and wicked horns grew and sprouted where none had been previously. Bat-like wings formed and powerful muscles flexed. In the span of a few seconds, the transformation was complete, and the revealed manakete was crouched close to the ground, its eyeless visage watching his enemies for any sign of further aggression.

The standoff lasted for all of thirty seconds before Odrick and a few of his bolder allies started laughing. Grinning he turned towards the speechless blue-haired girl. "Really now princess? Do you think us children? Like we would ever be so foolish to buy into such a pathetic illus- OOFF."

Odrick was cut off as Corrin rammed into him, his horns knocking aside the ax and shield before crashing into his gleaming armor with a hideous screech. Though he was still only a child, an infant by manakete standards, his draconic form was vastly stronger than any human's body. The single head but was enough to hurl Odrick down the alley and into four of his men, knocking them off their feet.

Hearing Lilith cry in alarm, Corrin turned just in time to see a sword streaking down towards his undefended back. Cringing in alarm, he was pleasantly surprised when the sword bounced harmlessly off of his armor-like scales. Smiling internally at the traitor's horrified reaction, Corrin swung his tail like a mace, dipping underneath his shield and catching him mid-torso.

He had just finishing congratulating himself on a job well done when three more guards threw their weapons aside in favor of tackling him. Corrin might have been stronger than a human, but three was just a little more than he could handle, especially for 6-year-old with such little combat training.

His salvation came in the form of his transformed twin grabbing two of them by the ankle and ripping them off of him. With only a single guard left Corrin was able to jump onto the wall and then body slam the unfortunate man into the dirt.

Scrambling back to his feet, he was just in time to see Lilith slam the two men she had grabbed together before hurling them into the rest of the soldiers. Motioning for her to fall back, Corrin dashed past both Lilith and the princess and swiped a claw at one of the soldiers Odrick had been knocked into. Once again, Corrin found himself staring down multiple enemies, but this time he knew that Lilith was watching his back. The geometry of the alley was working heavily in their favor; limiting how many guards could fight the dragons at once, while also giving added protection to the princess. That was, until the guards took the logical next step.

Three arrows pierced through Corrin's wings, two in his right and one in his left. Crying out in anguish, Corrin could barely focus on anything but the pain. From the screams coming behind him, Lilith had also been hit.

A gilded boot crashed violently into his face, but unlike with the arrow wounds, Corrin barely even felt the kick. "Damn, Odrick. You didn't mention nothing about any godforsaken dragons. I thought you said all the legends about the royals were nothing but old wives' tales."

"I did. They are." Odrick grumbled. "They're nothing more than some failed experiments done by the royals. _Dragons_. Damn man, they're barely the size of a pony! Legends say the first dragons were the size of the royal palace."

"I guess…" The first man didn't sound too certain. "Well, what do we do with them?"

"Bag them with the princess." Odrick commanded, striding past Corrin and towards Azura. "But let's clip their wings first. We don't want them flying off now do… we…"

A shadow had fallen over the alley even though the sun had only just begun to set. The newfound darkness was followed by a roar as loud as a thunderclap. In addition, gale force winds had begun to flow through the alley, blowing the garbage around in eddies and flurries of filth and grime. But it wasn't a consistent flow, instead moving like the beating of a heart. On and off the wind came, bid by the beating of the massive wings that blackened the sky above. Looking up, Corrin felt his heart sore.

Anankos had found his children.

Hovering up above the alley, the bowman already eliminated in fit of fury, the gigantic, castle sized dragon's crimson eyes narrowed in hate as it saw the arrows in his children's wings. Roaring in indignation, Anankos let loose a flashflood of draconic energy the same black and blue as the night sky. The wave of power eviscerated everything in the alley that wasn't between Corrin and Lilith to such an extent that even Corrin began to feel a tinge of fear in the face of his father acting so unhinged.

In an instant only Odrick, Corrin, Lilith, and the princess remained the rest being reduced to ash. As Odrick stared around in horror and disbelief, a glowing tree ripped through the alley floor and grabbed the guard, lifting him skyward as it grew. Eventually, Odrick was staring into the orb like face of the senior Silent dragon. **"You attacked my children."**

"I'm sorry! I didn't know, I- I- I promise I didn't mean to!" Any discipline or professionalism that had been ingrained in him had evaporated in the face of certain death.

 **"There are arrows in their wings. The wings of mere children.** _ **My**_ **children."** The branches tightened on Odrick, prompting him to yelp. **"Who would order an armored thug to attack children. Who are you working for?"** Anankos's eyes glanced down to the alley and for the first time caught sight of the princess, still cowering against a wall. Widening in recognition the crimson orbs returned to the traitor. **"You attacked the princess of Valla?! Was she your target, insect?"**

"Yes." Odrick choked out. "We didn't know- about-" the branches tightened again, "your kids-"

Anankos grew visibly more relieved. **"Then this is just another pathetic scheme from some stuffy noble."** The tree brought Odrick ever closer to the dragon's eyes. **"Which one?"**

"Never met- face to face-"

 **"Oh? So you have nothing left to tell me then?"** Odrick shook his head rapidly. **"Well… In that case…"** The tree that held Odrick began to glitter dangerously. **"Embrace oblivion."** Anankos said as he crushed Odrick with the tree.

* * *

"I'm sorry dad. We didn't mean to get into trouble." Corrin mumbled meekly.

Anankos sighed. "It's alright Corrin. I know how much you and Lily miss your mother."

"Does that mean you'll come with us next time?" Corrin asked hopefully.

Anankos winced. "No. I think we've made enough of a scene for the time being. Besides it'll be a couple weeks before you and your sister's wings are fully healed. Until that time, neither of you will be leaving the cave."

"Ahhhhhh, come on Dad! That's not fair." Corrin pouted. "I thought you said you weren't mad."

"No, I said I wasn't mad at you for transforming. That doesn't change the fact that you and your sister snuck out without telling me."

"It was Corrin's idea." Lilith's voice wafted down from the top bunk.

"That's not the point Lily and you know it." Anankos chided gently. "Besides there's plenty of fun to be had here. I promise you both that we'll have a wonderful time. I brought a new book back from my visit with the sage."

"Really?!" Corrin asked, sitting up in excitement. "What's it about? Is it a storybook? Does it have Ike in it? He's always been my favorite-"

"Now, now. There'll be time enough for that tomorrow. Right now, you both need to get to bed early so that your wings can heal on up."

"Okay."

"Yes, Dad."

Anankos kissed both his children on the cheek and blew out the candle, leaving only the soft glow of the luminescent plants as a nightlight. As he was about to close the door, to their room, he heard Corrin's last question.

"Dad, did the princess get home safely?"

Anankos stopped and smiled. "Yes. After you and your sister climbed onto my tail, both your mother and the Queen showed up with a battalion of the royal guard. They escorted the princess back home safely."

"And these were good guy guards, right?"

"The goodest."

"That's not a word." Lilith mumbled, half asleep.

Anankos chuckled. "That it isn't Lily. That it isn't. Good night Corrin. Good night Lily."

* * *

 **Disclaimer- This is a nonprofit, fan-based work. All characters and settings belong to their respective owners.**


	2. Chapter 2: The High Priestess

"And may the blessings of the great dragon Anankos follow you all, through day and night, through dusk and dawn, and through the endless silence of the abyss." Mikoto intoned, bowing as she completed the ceremony. "Be at peace my children, and keep the forgotten god forever in your hearts."

"Now and forever, for the glory of eternal Valla." The congregation answered.

Mikoto waited until the few hundred parishioners had left before finally indulging in a sigh of relief. Ever since Anankos had appeared in the flesh two days prior there had been a huge uptake in church attendance. Not much of a surprise really, considering what had happened. Nevertheless, it was mind-bendingly obnoxious, especially since her mind kept wandering back to the fate of her children.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Turning, Mikoto was less than surprised to see the regal form of her sister, guards in tow, striding towards her from the cathedral's side entrance. Wearing a beautiful white gown with golden ornamentation that matched her eyes and sapphire jewelry to match her hair, she was the picture of serene grace. Bowing in respect, Mikoto said, "Of course my queen. I always have time for you."

A raised eyebrow. "Oh really? And here I thought you'd been dodging me for the past few days."

"Dodging you? My own sister?" Mikoto laughed. "Perish the thought!" And it was true, she had actually meant to speak with her sister sooner, but the tidal wave of sermons had kept her far too busy. And unfortunately, it was necessary to keep up appearances. She motioned for the queen to follow as she led the way to her personal quarters located behind the alter.

After pouring them each a cup of tea, Mikoto took her seat across from Arete. Taking one last expectant glance at the guards, Mikoto broke the silence. "So… to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"You're kidding right?" Arete deadpanned.

"Careful now Arete, you're actually showing emotion. We wouldn't want your bodyguards to see you so unkempt now would we?"

She sighed. "You know, if someone had told me you'd still be like this when we were all grown up I would have ordered them taken to an asylum."

Mikoto raised a hand to her lips to accentuate the look of mock contemplation she gave the queen. "Hmm, I do believe that falls under the term 'abuse of power.' Does it not?"

The queen glared at her. "Sister, as much as I'd love to sit here and reminisce," she snapped her fingers and all of her bodyguards left the room, "we have much to discuss." Her eyes narrowed. "And let's try to keep the humor to a minimum, shall we?"

"I suppose I can manage that." Mikoto admitted. "Now, just how much damage has our oh so grateful god inflicted?"

"Physically? Not as much as we originally thought, just a few buildings on the outskirts. What's far more troubling is how its affected the city's mood."

Mikoto nodded. "I can attest to that. I can't remember the last time we had so many people taking to the priesthood. And that's not mentioning the influx of attendance at our daily ceremonies."

"Exactly. We went from barely any religious attendance to almost a hundred percent in less than two days. Culturally, it's a complete and utter nightmare." The queen gently massaged her temples. "I know you have no patience for it, but the court is in a complete uproar. Half of them are brainstorming ways to delegitimize the appearance while the other half is scheming to take control of the church."

Mikoto took a slow sip of tea. "You don't say."

"I'd watch your back sister." Arete said, clearly concerned. "They already hate you for being common born. The fact that your power has drastically spiked is just salt on the wound."

Mikoto waved the warning aside. "There's not much they can actually do." _Besides discovering Corrin and Lily of course._ She thought to herself. "After all, I'm the high priestess whom caused the great Anankos to appear and save the crown princess. How could they possibly replace me?"

"Don't underestimate their creativity. They're like a pack of feral wyverns." The queen looked thoughtfully at her sister. "You're sure you didn't do anything to summon him?"

"Nothing to my knowledge. I was as shocked as everyone else." Mikoto answered dryly before letting the conversation peter off as the two enjoyed their tea. "How is Azura doing?"

"About as good as can be expected. She still wakes up with nightmares, but her handmaiden says that other than that she's acting quite normally..." Arete trailed off before crossing her arms. Mikoto recognized that look and groaned internally. Just what was she about to bring up? "You know… that's not quite right. She did say something rather odd when she first woke up."

"Oh? Do explain."

"Well when she first opened her eyes she glanced around the room and asked, 'Where are those other children? Are they okay?'" Arete met Mikoto's eyes. "Of course when we asked her what she meant, she closed up, pretending it was nothing but a dream. I've never seen her do anything quite like it." She paused. "Does that mean anything to you?"

Mikoto chuckled while screaming internally. "Arete, she likely met some urchins while hiding in an alley. It isn't like you to focus on such a small detail."

"Perhaps." Arete admitted. "But then again, there were also a few peasants who've started spreading the oddest story about Anankos's appearance." When Mikoto didn't ask Arete continued talking. "They _say_ that there were two other dragons present. Two smaller dragons no larger than ponies. Both looking more like silver stags with wings and claws than the dragons of book and legend."

"And you think… what exactly? That these children Azura mentioned are, in fact, these dragons? That's ludicrous." Mikoto scoffed. "Children turning into dragons. Do you hear yourself?"

"You're probably right." Arete agreed, smiling. "But still, there are some among the higher tiers of the nobility that are taking the rumors quite seriously. To such an extent that they're sending search parties into the eastern expanses." She took a sip but her eyes never left Mikoto's. "After all, if the rumors were true and they were able to arrange a marriage between Anankos's children and their own… why, they'd be untouchable."

 _Over my dead body they would be._ Mikoto fumed internally. "Don't tell me the king is buying into that garbage as well."

"Oh no. We're more secure than ever thanks to Anankos appearing. Divine right to rule and what not. We hardly need the help." Arete tapped her finger on the arm of her chair thoughtfully. "Still, it's an interesting thought don't you think?"

"Maybe if you're the type to buy into arranged marriages." Mikoto shot back.

The queen chuckled. "Ah, that's right. I forgot your, eh, _stance_ on marriage."

"Well forgive me for believing love is more important than status." Mikoto deadpanned. "If my station precludes me from marrying the way I wish, then I'll just pick a profession that won't allow me to marry at all."

"Of course. How _wise_ of you. And just how is the priesthood treating you?"

Mikoto's smile was ice. "Better than you could possibly imagine."

* * *

The moment before Lilith's foot connected with the ball, scales erupted across her skin and bone structure morphed, but the effect didn't stretch an inch above her knee. Smiling in pride, she swung her foot forward, kicking the ball in just the right manner, sending it flying towards the roof of the cave a moment later. Not taking a second to admire her handiwork, Lilith sprinted towards the first base, her blue and red hair bobbing behind her as she ran. To her credit, she only briefly stumbled before realizing the need to undo the leg transformation.

"Excellent job Lily!" Anankos said from the pitcher's mound, or rather the pitcher's rock was a little more accurate. Snapping his fingers there was flash of light and the ball disappeared right before it could hit the ceiling. A second later it was back in his hands. "An almost perfect Dragonfang. Good job, just remember to always immediately undo it once you're done."

Lilith beamed. "Thanks Papa! I will Papa!"

He nodded in satisfaction. Today's training was going better than he'd dared to hope. "Alright Corrin, you're up next. Remember, try to keep your mind clear."

"Kay!" Corrin stepped forward jumping from one foot to another in anticipation. "Alright, I'm ready!"

"Corrin! Keep your eyes on the ball!"

Corrin glared at his sister. "Duh! I know how to play kickball Lily."

"Now, now Corrin. Don't get angry at your teammate." Anankos chided gently. "Besides," The silent dragon pitched the kickball faster than Corrin had ever seen before. "You'll need all of your focus if you want to hit this."

"Grrrr." Corrin focused as the ball came ever closer to the rock they were using as a plate.

"Remember Corrin, you need to concentrate on only transforming your foot and the tendons attached to it, but nothing more. As such, Dragonfang is vastly harder to get right than a simple transformation."

"I know Dad!" Corrin grumbled. As the ball finally entered his range Corrin was hit with a wave of uneasiness as he partially activated his dragonstone. For a moment his thoughts were a jumbled twister that was throwing his power this way and that; in every different direction at once. But as he felt his lower leg and foot transform into the scaled appendage of a dragon the unease gave way to momentary relief. Moving forward, he tried to kick the ball, only to find that he couldn't move the leg. Off balance and confused, his momentum swung him forward, sending him sprawling onto his face just in time for the ball to roll right into his head. For a moment, all Corrin could see were stars.

"Corrin are you alright?" Anankos asked as he ran over to where Corrin lay. Looking at his son, he was relieved to see that not only had the leg reverted back to human form, but his only injuries were a scraped knee and a bruise on his forehead. "Thank goodness. Corrin how do you feel?"

"Ugh." The young manakete groaned. "I'm okay. What happened?"

"It looks you forgot to transform all the muscles in your leg. Nervousness will do that."

"So I failed." Corrin grumbled, the disappointment dripping from his voice was almost palpable.

Anankos ruffled his son's hair and smiled. "Yes, but you managed to get the location right, so I'm sure you'll get it soon. Out of all the skills you'll learn, this is definitely one of the hardest. It requires precise mental control and unshakable discipline. And even then you can still make mistakes."

"Did you have trouble too?" Lilith asked, having finally reached Corrin's side and taking out a small roll of bread to munch as she watched.

"Oh of course. Why, the first time I tried it, I accidentally grew wings instead of claws. Your grandmother had to bandage my head after I accidentally flew into the ceiling." He smiled at the memory. "She was trying not laugh the entire time too.

Corrin's face scrunched up. "Dad! You said you wouldn't laugh!"

"I am not!" Anankos corrected quickly, trying desperately to backpedal. "I just meant that your grandma laughed when I hit my head."

"It _was_ kind of funny." Lilith mumbled into her snack. "I don't blame him for laughing."

"But I'm not laughing!"

"Am I interrupting something?" A familiar voice asked from the entrance of their cave.

"Mom!" The twins sprinted toward the outstretched arms of their mother. "I didn't know you were visiting today!" Corrin said happily.

"We bah you da other bay!" Lilith added, bread still in hand.

"How long are you staying for?" Corrin was jumping up and down in excitement, all pain and embarrassment from the Dragonfang debacle quickly forgotten. "Did you see us at the parade? We saw you! What's it like to wear such fancy clothing? I bet it was really hot. What was that explosion thing? Was it bad? Did you know we met the-"

Mikoto's soft chuckle cut him off. "Now, now Corrin calm down. They'll be time enough to answer all your questions and more later. But look how big you've gotten! You'll be your father's height in no time! And Lily don't talk with your mouth full, you're far too pretty for that."

Getting to his feet, Anankos found himself grinning almost as much as his kids. "Hello Miki."

"Hello dear." Mikoto replied, kissing Anankos. "You would not _believe_ the week I've had."

"Ah, about that." Anankos winced. "There are a couple things we really ought to talk about."

Mikoto nodded solemnly. "Yes, we really ought." She smiled at her jubilant children. "But later. Now Corrin, Lily, do either of you have a book you'd like me to read?"

* * *

"So that's what happened." Mikoto remarked thoughtfully. "Thank goodness you could sense them transform."

"Tell me about it." Anankos said softly, keeping his voice low as to not wake the twins sleeping in the adjacent room. "I was barely able to make it in time. Another few seconds…" He shuddered.

"Well thankfully nothing happened." Mikoto sighed, desperately trying to repress her own imagination as it ran off on its own. "But we aren't exactly in the clear, are we?"

"I mean; I could just eat everyone at court."

"Darling, mass genocide is never the answer." Mikoto chided gently, trying not to smile.

"Kidding, kidding." Anankos replied with a smile. "But you said they were going to start searching where?"

"The eastern expanses. I wasn't able to find out exactly which nobles are involved, but I'll keep my ears to the ground. We should know before too long."

"Hmm, do we really need to bother with this? I mean, they now that the kids exist now. Is there really any point in continuing to watch them?"

Mikoto stroked her lover's hair softly. "They're not going to stop, Anankos. They won't stop at the eastern expanses. They won't stop at the endless falls. They'll keep on searching until they find them. And I won't- no, I can't let them do that."

"So what? You sacrifice yourself to the court? I only agreed to letting you stay all those years ago because-"

"You agreed?" Mikoto's voice was sharp enough to make the millennia old dragon wince. For a moment he had forgotten how fiery she could be when it came to the kids. He would need to change tactics.

"I'm sorry." Anankos apologized quickly. "It's just… I can't bear to watch you live so close to those monsters."

"I know darling. I wish there was a way for us to escape them too. But we can't leave Valla, not with the curse existing. It would be difficult for either of us to always remember to keep our tongues in check, but two children? Impossible. It would only be a matter of time." She sighed in exasperation. "At least this way we have a chance." She smiled sadly. "And I'd much rather I be in danger than them."

"Perhaps that isn't the complete truth."

Mikoto frowned. "What are you talking about? The curse-"

"Was created by my hands." Anankos finished. "And by my hands it might be able to be broken."

Her eyes widened. "That- that would change everything. We could leave Valla, go to an Outrealm we could-" She stopped, took a deep breath, and forced herself to calm down. "Could you do it?"

He shrugged. "It would take some research. It's been so long… I'm not sure if I'm strong enough anymore." He thought for a moment. "Perhaps it would be worth a trip to Ylisse. The divine dragons are known for being quite powerful, perhaps Naga might be able to make up my slack."

"But do you really think it could be done?" Mikoto pressed.

"I don't know." Anankos admitted. "But it's worth a try. It's only a matter of time before they discover our secret. This way, we could escape far beyond their reach."

Mikoto nodded slowly. "But what about Corrin and Lily? It's not like we can get a babysitter and if anything there's anything we've learned this past week, it's that they're too young to be left alone."

"I have enough energy to give them a temporary immunity. It should be enough so that I can take them with me." He smiled. "Besides, from what I hear, Naga's grandchildren are about their age. It'll be good for them to make friends with kids their own age." He kissed her on the cheek. "We will make this work, Miki. I promise."

"I trust you." She rose her voice. "Just like I trust my children to go back to bed. Isn't that right Corrin?"

A tiny white haired head popped out from behind of the doorframe, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry Mom. How did you know I was there?"

"A mother always knows." Mikoto chided. "Also you squeaked when your father mentioned taking you on a trip. Are you excited?"

"Uh huh!" His bobbed rapidly up and down with the enthusiasm only a child could manage. We've never left home before."

"You mean without sneaking out, right?" Anankos corrected, sternly.

Corrin blushed. "Ya, I guess you're right about that. But still… I just have one question." He looked at his mother and father. "What's a Ylisse?"

* * *

 **Disclaimer- This is a nonprofit, fan-based work. All characters and settings belong to their respective owners.**


	3. Chapter 3: Silence and Divinity

"Wow, it's gigantic! I never even imagined I'd ever be in a castle!" Corrin looked around, taking note of the plethora of different people, from the colorful nobles to the shining knights and solders all moving around in the gigantic entry hall. Beautiful tapestries and gleaming suits of armor adorned the room even as light drifted down through luxurious stained glass windows. "It's like we're in a storybook!"

Anankos chuckled. "Try to calm down Corrin. I know you're excited, but you have to try and stay composed. As you said, we are in a castle, and in addition we're guests."

"I'll try." Corrin said in wonder.

The elder dragon leaned down and whispered into his son's ear. "Don't worry, we can discuss everything at length when we get home."

"Hey dad, are there really no floating islands in this world?" Lilith asked nervously, glancing out a nearby window and over at the surrounding landscape. From the look on her face, Anankos could tell the different landscape was bothering her more than a little.

"I'm afraid so Lily."

Lilith shivered. "That's so weird. Does that mean there are no waterfalls either?"

"Well there are, but they are just a lot smaller." Anankos looked up as a knight in blue and silver armor approached the group. "Ah, I assume you're our escort?"

"Yes. I apologize for the wait. We had a slight diplomatic emergency late last night." The knight's eye seemed to twitch for a second as he mentioned the event. He shook his head. "Anyways, my name is Frederick. I am the knight captain as well as the steward of this castle. It is my responsibility to escort you to the courtyard for your meeting with the Voice. Please, follow me." The man abruptly turned on his heels and led the trio dawn the regal halls towards what Anankos assumed was a courtyard. "The grandmaster sends his apologies, but he's currently preoccupied with the, eh, cleanup."

"That's fine; I'm actually just dropping off the kids for a playdate before I visit his mother in law."

"Ah, of course." Fredrick replied automatically. Then just what Anankos had said seemed to register and he shot him a piercing glare. "I must ask you to guard your tongue. You may be a guest of the grandmaster and the Voice, but I would advise you not to go around telling such lies. Here in Ylisse we value honesty quite highly."

Anankos was about to lie and apologize for his 'deception' when Corrin and Lilith jumped into action.

"Hey! My dad is not a liar you big meanie!" Corrin shouted, glaring at the knight more than twice his size. "I don't care how shiny your armor is, you can't talk to my dad like that!"

Lilith balled her fists as she backed up her brother. "Ya! The only time he ever lied was when he told mom we _did_ wait until after dinner for desert!"

"Kids, kids, I thought we agreed never to talk about that. Let's just calm down, alright?" Anankos said hastily, trying hard not laugh at the zealotry of their defense. "I'm sorry Sir Frederick, they're at that age. You understand, I'm sure."

"I- um, yes. O-of course." Frederick mumbled, looking at the two red-faced children in confusion. And as funny as it was to watch a veteran night reduced to speechlessness by a couple children, Anankos made a mental note to try and teach Corrin and Lilith some of the finer points of etiquette when they got home. Like not yelling at knights for example. Heavens forbid they come before royalty without knowing at least that much

The group walked in silence until the hallway opened up into an expansive garden. Looking ahead, Anankos could see a beautiful woman with long, green hair tied back in a ponytail and vibrant emerald eyes sitting on a bench watching two children play among the various bushes and flowers. Looking up as they approached, the woman rose and smiled warmly at them. "Thank you for bringing them Frederick." Her voice was dignified, yet it also gave the slightest sensation that she had only just woken up recently.

"It was my pleasure, milady." Frederick responded, bowing his head in respect. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must take my leave." He sighed. "We still have quite a bit of work to do upstairs."

The woman winced. "Of course." Looking at the three silent dragons, her expression grew slightly nervous and she bowed rigidly. "It has been quite a while Lord Anankos. I'm afraid I can't even remember the last time we spoke."

"I can. You were almost as young as Corrin and Lily." Anankos chuckled softly. "And please, Tiki, there's no need to bow or bother with honorifics, I've come here to ask your mother for help after all." He paused and pointed back at Frederick, lowering his voice to a whisper, "I do have to ask, what happened that has everyone here in a tailspin?"

"Oh that," Tiki sighed, visibly relaxing at his familiarity as she did. "One of our mages was preparing a surprise for the yearly festival celebrating victory over Grima. There was a bit of an _accident_. Something about self-replicating Risen puppets for the play. My husband and the rest of our mages are currently trying to clean up the mess to little avail."

Anankos frowned. He had never been fond of the fell dragon. Whereas the majority of the manakete tribes had embraced Naga's advice to utilize the dragonstones and thus avoid degeneration, Grima had embraced the change, claiming it was their divine right to rule over the fangless masses. It was an idiotic idea, and Anankos had told the fell dragon as much. He… hadn't taken it well. Yet the memory of the angry, but idealistic orphan of the Fell tribe still stung. Grima may have been a fool, but he hardly deserved to have his death celebrated. He _would_ be taking this up with Naga. "Do you need my help?"

"I doubt it." Tiki answered with a smile. "It's not like they're dangerous. They just run around the castle knocking things down. The children were making a game of chasing them this morning.

Anankos nodded. "Then I'll be off. You too be good."

"Okay dad!"

"You have a good time!"

She turned to the two children, kneeling down so she would be at their level. "Hello there. You must be Corrin and Lilith. I've heard so much about you."

"H-hello." Lilith muttered, staring down at her feet. Her eyes kept dashing towards her brother, as if to check and see if it would be possible for her to hide behind him fast enough so that no one would notice her disappearance.

"Hi." Corrin added happily. "Your ears are pointy, does that mean you're like us?"

Tiki laughed softly. "In a way. I am a manakete, like you. But whereas you are of the Silent, I am of the Divine tribe."

"Oh. Does that mean you can't transform?" Corrin asked, confused.

She chuckled. "Oh no, I can definitely transform," She got up and smiled. As can my children. Speaking of which, Morgan, Mark! Come over here and say hello to our guests."

The two green haired children jumped at the summons, leaving their stack of books and running to their mother. They were both about the same height as Corrin and shared their mother's bright green hair. The boy's was kept combed and neat while the girl's was a couple inches longer and left more to its own devices. Both of them wore tailored clothes the same reddish pink as their mother's.

"Hey mother!" The girl, Corrin figured she must have been Morgan, said. She cracked a half smile and looked at the two Silent dragons curiously. "Who're they? I've never seen them around the castle before."

"This is Corrin and this is Lilith. Their father is a friend of your grandmother's." Tiki explained. "We thought it would be fun for you four to have a playdate while the two of them handle some business."

"Huh, they don't look like siblings." Morgan remarked. "Their hair and eyes are different."

"Lucy and Inigo don't have the same eye color either though." The boy, Mark, added.

"Maybe… But look at their hair! His is white while hers is blue and red." She scrunched up her face in confusion. "It doesn't, make any-"

"Morgan," Tiki chided sternly, "that's not polite. You're making them feel uncomfortable."

"Oops! Sorry mother!" Morgan answered sheepishly before extending her hand towards Corrin. "The name's Morgan. It's nice to meet you, uhh…"

"Corrin." Tiki supplied smiling softly.

"Oh right, Corrin! It's nice to meet you Corrin!"

Corrin looked at the hand warily. His time sneaking into the Vallite capitol had taught him many things, but as evident with his encounter with Frederick earlier, etiquette was hardly one of them. He could wrestle sewer rats and evade guards pretty well, even steel bread to help out some of the orphans he was friends with, but besides a few pointers from old man Sage, he didn't really know what to do in a situation like this. So, devoid of any idea what to do, he leaned back and asked his sister. "What do I do?"

"I don't know" Lilith whispered, her real world experience even smaller than her brother's. "Maybe you hit it? Dad gives us high fives some times. Maybe it's like that."

That didn't seem right, but since he was starting to get a weird look from the green haired girl, he decided to follow his sister's advice and swatted the girl's hand away while giving his best smile. "N-nice to meet you too!"

"Huh?!" Morgan gaped. "That's not how you shake someone's hand!"

Tiki chuckled. "I forgot to tell you. Corrin and Lilith live quite some ways away from Ylisse. Even farther than we do actually."

"Even farther than Valm?" Mark asked in wonder.

"But that doesn't make any sense, the world is a ball." Morgan argued. "We live on the other side of the planet; how could they live farther away?"

Tiki patted her on the head. "Morgan, what does your father always say?"

"Nothing is impossible?" Mark said.

"Mom is always right?" Morgan answered happily.

Tiki chuckled. "Not exactly what I meant, but yes and yes. I promise it will make more sense when you're older, but for the time being, you'll just have to trust me."

"Aww, that's no fair." Morgan grumbled as her brother shrugged and walked up to Lilith.

"It's nice to meet you!" He said happily as he extended his hand. When he saw her glance at her brother nervously, he continued. "Oh, you're supposed to shake it. Like this." He took her right hand and showed her how. "There, easy!"

"T-thanks." Lilith mumbled towards her feet.

"Excellent. Now that we're all acquainted, how about you have some fun? Morgan, Mark, you two brought your dragonstones like I asked, right?"

"Well ya, but that wouldn't be fair." Mark said slowly. "I mean; even Lucy can't keep up with us when we use them and she's incredible."

"Aww, you're just saying that because you have a crush on her!" Morgan sneered.

"I-I do not!"

"Mark likes Lucy! Mark likes Lucy!" Morgan sang with glee running in circles as she did to avoid her brother who had begun to chase her. Deciding that the situation looked like fun, Corrin began to chase the strange green haired girl as well, much to his own sister's chagrin.

"C-Corrin, what are you doing?" Lilith asked. "You're- you're gonna get in trouble!"

Tiki shook her head. "Oh no, this is fine. Things like this happen quite often. Morgan's always been pretty energetic. "

"Energetic?"

"Yes, she's always liked pushing people's buttons." Tiki explained poking Lilith's belly button as she did, eliciting a giggle from the shy silent dragon. "You can play as well you know."

"Uhm…" Lilith shook her head, and took a step backwards.

"Hmm…" Tiki said softly, taking note of the girl's nervousness. "Now your father told me that you have quite the appetite." When Lilith nodded in the affirmative, she continued. "Why don't you and I go down to the kitchen and grab some snacks. Then we can all play a board game when we get back."

"O-okay." Lilith answered. "But I don't know how to play…"

"Oh, I'm sure Morgan and Mark will be overjoyed to teach you." Tiki said, taking Lilith's hand and leading her towards the kitchens while the other three young manaketes continued to chase each other.

* * *

Corrin grunted as he tripped for what must've been the tenth time. Looking up, he saw the grinning face of his tormentor staring down at him once again. "HA! Just like dad always says; if you know your environbent you can't lose!"

"I think it's environment." Mark corrected softly as he struggled to remove twigs from his hair. Unlike Corrin, he did know where all the roots and potholes in the garden were, however since Corrin was a faster runner than he was, once he had tripped, Mark had tripped over him right afterwards.

"Is it?" Morgan pondered. "That doesn't sound right…" She shrugged. "Doesn't matter. I win! Again!" She smirked at the two boys sprawled in a bush. "Unless of course you think you can catch me this time."

"Grrr... You bet I do!" Corrin shot back, staggering to his feet, and after a few shaky steps, began chasing after Morgan again.

"I think I'll sit this one out." Mark yelled after the two of them, sinking back into the bush and closing his eyes. "Good luck Corrin, and watch out for that-"

"OOF"

"HA!"

"Never mind." Mark finished with a sigh.

"Grrr…" Corrin growled in frustration. "That's it!" His hand plunged into his pocket and curled around his dragonstone. Ripping it out in triumph he smirked. "Let's see how you handle this-" He was cut off as a wave of green magic knocked the blue gem out of his hand before he could transform. Staring at his now empty hand in shock, he heard a laugh from Morgan's direction.

"Hahaha, that's amazing! Like, I knew you had something planned, but throwing a shiny blue rock at me? That doesn't seem like a very good one. I mean, what if you lost it? You'd be so sad."

"It's not a rock, it's a dragonstone!" Corrin said softly, still stunned by how quickly the girl had reacted.

"Whaaat? No." Morgan gave him the same look that his mother gave whenever she found him doing something silly. "Dragonstones aren't blue dummy! They're green." She put her hands on her hips and looked at him in pride. "Trust me, my family's kinda an expert on the subject. My grandmother even invented them!"

"Oh really?" Corrin asked as he edged his way slowly over to where his stone laid gleaming in the grass, not really paying attention to what she was saying. "Well watch this- HEY STOP DOING THAT!"

As he had made his mad dash towards the stone, Morgan had blasted another burst of wind magic at it, knocking it further away much to Corrin's dismay. However, it looked like she had made a mistake, as the stone was now safe behind a bush and beyond the girl's magic. Running as fast as he could, Corrin hurled himself into the bush and after the stone.

Walking slowly towards him Morgan sighed. "Aww, come on. I mean it looks pretty but I told you, it's not a dragonstone, it's just a pretty little- Oh my Grandma!"

Corrin's head, now transformed, shot out of the bush, startling Morgan to such a degree that she fell backwards and dropped her tome.

If he hadn't been in his dragon form, he would have laughed in triumph. Instead, he merely reached out to grab Morgan by the cape and secure his victory. However, that turned out to be short lived, as he had forgotten for a moment that he was hardly the only manakete in the garden.

Pulling out a gemstone the color of spring grass, the girl was surrounded in a brilliant violet light the shape of which reminded Corrin of a cross between a chrysalis and a rose. A second later, a large scaled figure emerged from the cocoon and he was grabbing a tail instead of a cloak.

 _"Heh, heh, how do you like me know?"_ Somehow Corrin could still hear Morgan's voice even though she was transformed. Though now it was distorted, kinda like how Dad's sounded when he was talking to them from deep inside of the cave. _"Aw come on, you can't be that shocked! Though you do look pretty weird…"_

The feeling was mutual. Whereas Corrin's form was clearly quadruped and had no discernable mouth, Morgan's had much smaller forelimbs that wouldn't be any help for walking or running. In addition, she had a well-defined jaw and fangs. In the place where her horns should be were… fin like structures? Corrin didn't know what to make of it. And to top it all off she was golden and green with purple highlights instead of the silver and black that he and Lily became. It was a little odd.

"Uhh, Sis… I don't think he can talk."

 _"What? Don't be silly Mark! Of course he can talk! All dragons can talk. Duh! He was talking a little while ago wasn't he?"_

"Well ya, but he doesn't have a mouth anymore."

 _"That doesn't matter! See, watch this."_ Morgan leaned in close and nipped at Corrin's horns. _"If you can talk nod your head up and down. Like this!"_ The female manakete enthusiastically bobbed her head up and down. _"Now your turn!"_

Though it was true his father could talk while transformed, he had always told Corrin and Lilith that it would be centuries before they were old enough to be able to do that. Instead, Corrin shook his head side to side instead, prompting Mark to puff out his chest. "See I told you. No mouth! Blue dragonstone, different colors, I guess he has different rules for when he transforms."

 _"Grrr, guess you're right. He does look kinda like a deer."_ Morgan grumbled before spreading her wings and taking off. _"Well, let's see if you're any faster like that. Catch me if you can!"_ With that, the young divine dragon rocketed off the ground and out of the gardens. Desperate not to get left behind Corrin zoomed after her.

"Hey wait up!" Mark called, and Corrin could hear the same rushing of wind that had accompanied Morgan's transformation. There was no time to turn around though, Morgan was already starting to edge away. How was she so fast!?

Corrin ducked underneath a parapet even as Morgan rolled out of the way of a flagpole. They were almost neck and neck, but every time Corrin would get almost close enough to grab her, she would turn or dart to the side or underneath a buttress, widening the distance between them. Corrin thought it was almost like a dance, one that was more fun than anything he had tried before. He had just almost grabbed onto one of her hind legs when she dove downwards, putting some distance between them.

 _"Ooh, nice try. But…"_ Morgan flipped around just as Corrin was darting down to grab her. _"Checkmate!"_ Corrin barely enough time to register that her mouth was open before the freezing blast of divine breath hit him head on. The icy fire chilled him to the bone, knocking the wind out of him and making him forget to move his wings for a moment.

It was only after he had fallen a good fifty feet that he realized how much it hurt. The pain was almost overwhelming. In fact, he could barely think. It was almost all encompassing. Through the haze he thought he heard Morgan say something. _"Mark! Something's wrong, you've got to catch him!"_

 _"I can't reach him in time!"_

 _"Hang on Corrin! I might be able to-"_ And then everything went black for a moment. Shaking his head in a desperate attempt to clear his head, he noticed that he had somehow reverted to his human form. Eyes wide in fear, he fumbled in his pocket for his dragonstone as the roof of the castle below him got closer and closer. As his fingers finally found the stone, he let out a breath of relief. Now that he had the stone he could allow himself to enjoy the rushing air. The sun was high, the sky was blue, and even though it wasn't quite as sweet as back home, the air this high up always smelled so nice.

Ugh, the rooftop was rapidly approaching, he would probably have to transform quickly or risk turning into dragon shaped stain on the roofing tiles. Then before he could do so, an idea burrowed and wormed its way into his mind. Corrin smirked.

There were only a few seconds left and Corrin could make out the individual shingles that were growing ever closer. Letting his arms go seemingly limp, he waited to see if his playmates would take the bait. He was just about to give up on his little gambit when he saw a flash of green and gold from the corner of his eye getting closer and closer. Just a little more and… NOW!

Corrin transformed at the last moment, timing it so that Morgan was just about to grab him when he did. Turning on her, Corrin had just enough time to relish the young divine dragon's squeak of surprise before he grabbed onto her. For a moment their bodies curled and wrestled in the air. Then the pair realized that Corrin's prank hadn't done anything to remove the threat of slamming into the ground. At the last second, the two separated, each using the momentum from the fall to glide back to safety.

With a sense of triumph, Corrin lead the way back to the courtyard. As soon as the trio had all reverted to human form, Corrin began to jump up and down in joy. "HA! I got you! I got you!" He giggled. "You shoulda seen the look on your face."

"No fair! I thought you were in trouble." Morgan pouted. "I was trying to save you."

"Ya, because you blasted firey- icy- icefire at me!" Corrin responded. "Actually, now that I think about it, that really hurt! Why'd you do that? I thought we were just playing around."

Morgan stamped her feet in frustration. "I didn't _mean_ to hurt you. How was I supposed to remember that wyrmsbane was a thing? It's not like I've ever met a manakete from a different tribe before."

"Wyrmsbane? What's that?"

"A perk to being part of the Divine tribe." Mark explained. "The fire we breath is extremely dangerous to other dragons and wyverns. Even other manaketes can get really hurt by it if we're not careful."

"Like what happened with me."

Morgan nodded. "Mother says that it's because we're one of the oldest tribes. We're supposed to be super careful with it…" her shoulder slumped, "but I forgot. I got caught up in playing with you. I'm sorry. Huh? What are you doing?"

Morgan looked up to see Corrin smiling as he patted her on the head. "I'm tagging you. We are still playing right? I mean you keep talking about how your magic fire or whatever hurt me, but all I remember is using it to trick you into losing."

"T-tricked?" Corrin couldn't help but notice that she seemed to focus on her being deceived instead of her losing. That was kind of weird. "You? Me? As if! This- this was all part of my plan so I could grab my- uh…" Morgan looked to her right and then to her left, desperately trying to find anything she could use as an excuse, "my… wind tome! That's it, I needed to grab my wind tome!"

"Psh like that's the reason why- OH CRAP!" Corrin said right before he was blasted off his feet by a blast of emerald wind magic.

Looking on, Mark couldn't do much more than grin. "Here they go again…"

* * *

Anankos sunk into the chair, his blue hair wet with sweat and clinging to his face. "Well. That wasn't bad for our first go at it."

"No, not bad at all." Naga agreed, wiping her face off with a towel. "I must ask though; did you really have to make the vanishing spell so complex?"

"In my defense, it was a different time. I had just finished fighting off the Dawn and Dusk dragons after all."

She nodded. "I remember. Though, I thought you ended up faking your death to pull the Silent dragons out of the conflict?"

He waved it off. "Irrelevant details."

"Hmm." Naga sighed. "Regardless, it will take a few more sessions to eliminate the spell completely. You'll have to tell Corrin and Lilith to be careful."

"Of course. How are they doing on their play date anyways?"

"Let's see…" Naga smiled mischievously as she closed her eyes and looked into Ylisse. "Getting into trouble by the looks of it. Apparently your son and my granddaughter are quite the combination."

"Heh heh, that boy. Well as long as they're safe I can't complain." Anankos responded. "Kind of reminds me of when we were kids. Remember the volcano? I thought old man Sage was going to have a heart attack."

"Oh my, I can't believe you remember that. Such a long time ago…"

"Ya, that was back before dragonstones were even invented." He smiled. "You know; I hope my kids can have memories like that."

"If they're half as crazy as their father I would be shocked if they didn't." Naga said.

"Well I'm sorry that we all can't be as responsible as you. Huh, why are you laughing?"

Naga lowered the hand she had been using to hide her mirth. "I'm sorry. I couldn't resist. It's just been such a long time since I've seen you like this."

"Like this?"

She nodded. "Yes. Ever since your sister's passing you've always been so withdrawn. I thought I'd never see you smile again. Mikoto and the kids have truly done wonders for you."

Anankos remained silent. He had almost forgotten what life had been like before Mikoto had come into his life. The nightmares, the panic attacks, it had almost enough to drive him insane. No wonder Naga had thought she would never see him happy again, he had thought the same for the longest time. But now?

Anankos smiled and got out of the chair. "You have enough in you for another round?"

Naga set the towel down and retook her place opposite Anankos. "If you insist. I believe I can endure for another hour or so."

* * *

"Hmm…" Corrin mumbled as he stared up at his opponent who laying leisurely on a branch.

"Do you give up now!" Morgan asked lazily from her perch as she flipped through her tome. "We've been at this for like a full ten minutes now. Ten minutes!" She sighed. "This is barely even fun anymore."

 _You say that, but you're totally distracted cause of that book of yours!_ Corrin smirked and circled around to the other side of the tree. _Now all I have to do is grab that branch and then-_ The moment his feet left the ground another blast of wind energy buried him into the dirt.

"Okay, maybe I was wrong. This will never not be fun." Morgan giggled. "Hey are you okay?"

"Ya, I'm fine." Corrin grumbled, though couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face. It was so much fun to be able to play with kids his own age. He had only ever been able to do that with his sister and even then they had to be careful to keep their powers hidden when out in public. Being able to play in dragon form was the best thing ever! Well besides the wyrmsbane thing. That kinda hurt, but whatever. "Mark you wanna give me some help here?" "

"What? Sorry Corrin, Mother and I are teaching Lily how to play a board game."

Lilith nodded happily. "You should come play too Corrin! We got tons of yummy treats from the kitchens."

"Eh, I'll wait until after I catch Morgan."

"As if!" His playmate yelled down at him.

"Morgan, be fair." Tiki chided gently.

 _Heh, heh, we'll see about that. Now, while you're talking to your mom,_ Corrin lowered himself close to the ground, preparing to jump towards the branch with all his might. _All I have to do;_ he focused on the jump with all his might. He could do this, he knew he could; _is;_ he felt a wave of unfamiliar energy flow through his veins, but at this point he was far too focused to care; _JUMP! WAIT NOT LIKE THAT, NOT LIKE THAT!_ In a rush of blinding speed, Corrin shot off the ground like an arrow from a freshly built ballista, zooming upwards and past the branch he had been jumping towards in an instant. In fact, he was rapidly approaching the branch Morgan was sitting on.

"Will do mother- HOW?!" Morgan uttered in shear shock as an equally shocked Corrin careened into her knocking her out of the tree and sending both of them hurtling towards the ground.

"Oof!" Corrin grunted as he hit the ground with a thud. "UGH!" He let out as Morgan landed on his chest a half-second later.

"Corrin!" Lilith squeaked.

"Morgan, Corrin, are you two alright?" Tiki asked, concern evident in her voice.

"Don't worry mom I'm fine." Morgan said with a wave. Then she looked down, as if noticing the 'cushion' she was sitting on for the first time. "Oh right. Are you okay Corrin?"

"Yep, I'm good." Corrin somehow managed to say despite the girl sitting on his chest.

"Awesome! Speaking of awesome," she leaned down to look him in the eye. "How did you do that? That was so cool!"

"Yes, that was quite the sight Corrin." Anankos remarked smiling.

"Oof." Morgan grunted as Corrin pushed her off.

"Dad! You're back!"

"Yes Corrin." He said with a smile, ruffling his son's hair as he did so. "Thank you Tiki, I'm sorry that it took so long. We got a little carried away and lost track of time."

"It was no trouble Anankos, your children are a pleasure to be around. Was your trip productive?"

"Very much so, though it will take a few more sessions in order to dispel the curse entirely." Corrin laughed as Anankos picked him up and put him on his shoulders. "Guess I'll have to bring the two of you back here again, huh? You don't mind that, do you my little Dragonfang user?"

"No this was fun! Morgan and Mark are really nice." Corrin replied happily, missing the last part for a moment. Then his jaw dropped. "Wait… Is that what I did?" He started bobbing up and down in excitement. "I used Dragonfang? I used Dragonfang! Lily, I used Dragonfang!"

Morgan leaned over to Mark and whispered in his ear. Mark then leaned towards Lilith and whispered, "Lily what's a Dragonfang?"

"It's a silent dragon thingy." Lilith whispered softly.

"Ah. Morgan, it's a silent dragon thingy."

"I heard her Mark!" she sighed, "Guess we'll have to find more about it in the library."

"Uh huh."

"Of course. How else do you think you jumped that high?" Anankos answered Corrin with pride. "Now that you and Lily have managed to use it, I think we should stop and grab some ice-cream at an outrealm on the way home."

"Really?" Lily asked, eyes wide.

"Well we have to celebrate don't we?" Anankos turned to Tiki. "Would you and your husband like to come as well? Morgan and Mark too of course."

Tiki shook her head and managed to barely hold in a yawn. "On any other day I'd say yes, but we do have a festival tomorrow and we all need our sleep. Perhaps another time?"

"I'm looking forward to it. Alright, are you two ready to go home?"

"Ya."

"Yep."

"Alright then, say goodbye." Anankos said as he raised his hand and opened a portal through the outrealms.

"Bye Mark, bye Morgan!" The two silent dragons said happily.

"Bye Corrin," Morgan waved at him, then her expression turned mischievous and she winked. "I hope you enjoyed winning, cause that's the last time you're ever gonna catch me. I'm gonna study with father until I can beat you blindfolded!"

"You wish!" Corrin shot back with a smile.

"Bye Lily, thanks for playing that board game with me." Mark chimed in happily. "Next time we'll have to introduce you to Lucy and Inigo, I'm sure you'll get along great with them!"

"Y-ya, I-I can't wait!" Lily replied excitedly, causing her father to smile in surprise. He was glad that this had turned out be a success with the curse of course. But seeing his daughter breaking out of her shell and connecting with kids her own age filled him with the wonderful sense of pride that would have made this whole trip worth it in and of itself. _I can't wait to tell Mikoto all about this._ Anankos thought happily as the trio stepped through the portal and back to the comfortable cave they called home.

* * *

 **Disclaimer- This is a nonprofit, fan-based work. All characters and settings belong to their respective owners.**


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